NATO takes over security in violent Afghan south

JEREMY LAURENCE, Reuters News Service |
July 31, 2006

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO forces took over security from a U.S.-led coalition in restive southern Afghanistan on Monday, embarking on one of the alliance's biggest ground operations in its history.

Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest phase of violence since the ouster of the Taliban government in 2001, with most attacks occurring in the south.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is currently made up of 37 countries from NATO and non-NATO states. They will take over security in six provinces in the south, a stronghold of Taliban insurgents.

"NATO is here for the long term, for as long as the government and people of Afghanistan require our assistance," Lieutenant-General David Richards, the British NATO commander who will be responsible for the south, said in a statement on Monday.

Until now, NATO has been in charge of security in the capital, Kabul, and the safer north and west of the country.

The statement said the expansion would bring more international military forces into Afghanistan, and would build on the efforts of the coalition to provide security as well as reconstruction projects and humanitarian assistance in the south.

"Today's transfer of authority demonstrates to the Afghan people that there is a strong commitment on the part of the international community to further extend security into the southern region's provinces," said Lieutenant-General Karl Eikenberry, commander of the coalition forces.

"This is a seamless transfer of responsibility and authority from the U.S.-led coalition to NATO-ISAF. Having NATO committed to Afghanistan's future is good for the Afghan people and the entire international community."

The mission shapes up to be the most dangerous in the bloc's 57-year history.

NATO peacekeeping troops, mostly from Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, have been taking up positions in the south for the past few months and have already been engaged in heavy fighting.

Of the more than 70 foreign troops killed this year, at least six of those have been involved in NATO-led operations.

The south is a hotbed of violence and has seen numerous suicide attacks, bombings and hit-and-run raids in the past six months.

More than 1,700 people have been killed since the start of the year in attacks by Taliban guerrillas, drug gangs and U.S.-led coalition operations.

On Monday, Taliban vowed to continue attacks on NATO forces, saying the increase in the presence of foreign troops would provide them with "new and easy targets".

"Hundreds of our suicide bombers are awaiting NATO forces... we will continue our offensive until we force the foreign troops to leave our country," Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban commander for the south, told Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location.

As well as the Taliban threat, NATO will face stiff resistance from drug warlords.

NATO chiefs have said they will target the drug barons who have operated unmolested over the past five years and hold sway over much of the rural population.

The alliance will boost its presence in Afghanistan by about 7,000 troops to 16,000, and their new deployment in the south will boost the number of foreign troops there to around 9,000.

The extra soldiers should let the United States trim its Afghan force of about 22,000.

NATO hopes to proceed with the final phase of its deployment into the east by the end of the year, giving it complete security control in Afghanistan.